Photon to change name to Enero

Photon Group is set to to change its name to Enero Group, the company has informed the ASX.

Photon Group – which narrowly survived becoming overwhelmed by debt – owns several Australian agencies including BMF, BWM and Naked Communications.

Enero is the Spanish word for January. The company says the change marks “a fresh start for the reinvigorated company”.

The company has also announced what it describes as a “new strategic direction to create a more digitally centred global marketing services group”. It will be based on five main business units – BMF, Naked, PR agency Hotwire, Frank PR and research company The Leading Edge.

The company revealed that its profits have gone backwards in the first nine months of its financial year. Operating profits dropped from $43.5m to $16.7m. However this was in part driven by the company being much smaller after selling several agencies. But operating profits of the continuing businesses were down from $12.5m to $10.2m.

However, the company says it is now debt free, with $24m in cash and only $13.5m in payments remaining due over the next 12 months to people who sold agencies to the company.

The management of the company has now been through wholesale change. BMF co-founder Matthew Melhuish is now CEO while Austar founder John Porter has just become chairman.

In a presentation to the market, the company listed its ambtion as: “To be the most ‘lean forward’, digitally centred marketing services group in the world”.

Nice name. Strangely, none of the existing businesses are digital pure plays, why make these kinds of comments to the market. So while they’re not exactly leaning forward right now, some acquisitions in Brazil could be interesting. I’ve worked with Brazil-based cos and they are as on track as the rest of the Americas.

For this business to successfully lean forward into a brilliant, techno fluent future, as an imperative first step, sack the language mutilating moron who came up with the nauseatingly trite term “idea-tor”. With twits like this aboard, is it any wonder Photon, err Enron, sorry Erection, I mean Enero has had such a Titanic-like run.